December 20, 2008
A Web Start-Up Counting on Ad Sales? Good Luck - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
I guess they figured readers would think any discussion of ad-supported music was too obvious.
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December 18, 2008
For U2, Live Nation Deal Rocks. Ditto Madonna.

Just when it didn’t seem possible, another downside to 360 deals emerges. If Madonna cashes out in April, Live Nation will owe her $25MM even though Live Nation’s stock value has lost 83% of its value since she signed in October 2007.

I say good for U2 and Madonna.

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Mixwit mixtape site shuts down
I think it’s funny that it took a full week for anyone to find out that Mixwit was shutting down. They posted the deadpool notice on the company blog Dec. 10.
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Fred Wilson Talks 8tracks
Fred was also very bullish on Muxtape and Mixwit, both of which hit the skids in 2008.
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“ We regret to announce that Mixwit will cease to exist at the end of the year. The website and profiles will be turned off around Dec 21st Dec 27th and all embedded widgets will stop playing before the end of December.
All good things… « Mixwit.Blog
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Philadelphia Papers Launch Local Music Site
If it’s supposed to be a local music site, then why is the Soulja Boy snafu the lead story? Rhetorical question. It’s hard out there for music sites of any ilk, but I can’t think of any Philly bands that would really be a draw to a site like this.
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Amie Street Offering 50 Percent Discount on Entire Music Catalog
I know mp3 services like to make offers like this, but one wonders how they pay out for promotions like this.
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December 17, 2008
John Cage mousepad.
John Cage mousepad.
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The Long Fail: the cost of digital distribution - MTT - Music Think Tank
This leaves out the tiny detail of the long tail, namely that most people aren’t searching for these so-called “niche artists.” In the past they would’ve been considered “underground,” or, less charitably, “unknown.”
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December 16, 2008
“ Vernon was not made by EMI or Atlantic but by music bloggers on HypeMachine and others. He sold fifty thousand copies on a small record label, mostly through word of mouth.

Music Lessons : CJR:

Alissa Quart’s heart is in the right place, but what she leaves out is the amount of luck associated with these successes. There are plenty of artists who could follow these “models” and fail colossally. What makes these artists different from the countless others who attempt the same feats?

Moreover, what did Virb get out of this?

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